Context: There is consistent arrest and attack on Tamil Nadu and Puducherry fisherman near DELFT island in the Palk Bay Sea area despite diplomatic intervention at the highest level.
Confusion in Boundary
- India and Sri Lanka share a maritime border of more than 400 kilometres, which cuts through three different seas - the Bay of Bengal in the north, the Palk Bay in the centre, and the Gulf of Mannar (which opens to the Indian Ocean) in the south.
- The International Boundary Line (IBL) is close to the shores of both countries in the Palk Bay region, where the maximum distance separating them is around 45 km and the minimum 16 km (between Dhanushkodi on the Indian coast and Talaimannar on the Sri Lankan coast).
- Crossing the IBL would mean entering into the territorial waters (12 nautical miles or 22 km) rather than the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
Demarcation of Boundary
- Even before the Law of the Sea was negotiated at the United Nations, and India declared its 200-nautical-mile EEZ, came the maritime agreements of 1974 and 1976 between India and Sri Lanka.
- The 1974 agreement demarcated the maritime boundary in the Palk Strait and ceded Kachchatheevu to Sri Lanka.
- The 1976 agreement demarcated the boundary in the Gulf of Mannar and the Bay of Bengal and barred either country's fishermen from fishing in the other's waters.
Concern of fisherman
- The continued use of deep-sea trawlers (a practice banned by Sri Lanka since 2017) by Indian fisherman has raised issue of both livelihood and ecological destruction.
- Fishermen also face a practical problem as under the Tamil Nadu Marine Fishing Regulation Act 1983, mechanized fishing boats are permitted to fish only beyond three nautical miles from the coast.
- Since the distance between Dhanushkodi and the International Maritime Boundary Line is only nine nautical miles, breaches do occur, a point the Sri Lankan Navy not overlooked.
Deep Sea Trawling
- Bottom trawling is a method of fishing that involves dragging heavy weighted nets across the sea floor, in an effort to catch fish.
- It’s a favored method by commercial fishing companies because it can catch large quantities of product in one go.
Ecological impacts of deep-sea trawling
- Habitat Destruction: Trawling can cause physical damage to the seabed and the structures that support marine life.
- The heavy gear used in trawling can crush or remove vulnerable habitats such as deep-sea corals, sponges, and other benthic organisms.
- Biodiversity Loss: The indiscriminate nature of trawling nets can lead to the capture of non-target species, including various marine organisms.
- This bycatch often includes species that are not commercially valuable and can result in the depletion of non-targeted populations, leading to biodiversity loss.
- Altered Ecosystem Dynamics: The removal of large quantities of marine organisms through trawling can disrupt the balance within ecosystems.
- Targeted species and their predators may experience declines, leading to cascading effects throughout the food web.
- Slow Recovery: Deep-sea ecosystems have limited resilience, and the slow growth rates of many deep-sea species mean that recovery from trawling impacts can take decades or even centuries. Some species may struggle to rebuild their populations, if at all.
- Carbon Sequestration: Deep-sea ecosystems play a crucial role in carbon sequestration. Trawling can disturb sediments and release stored carbon, contributing to climate change.
- Additionally, the destruction of deep-sea habitats reduces their ability to sequester carbon effectively.